The Girl Next Door
by Whatsername Stardust
Summary: A fun little song fic to "Girl Next Door by Saving Jane. Ron/Luna loveliness. Read and review, if you wish! 3 PS. I don't own HP or this song


Just the Girl Next Door?

Luna has lived near the Weasley family her whole life. Despite this fact, she never was friends with any of the kids until fifth year. It was that fateful first day when she met the trio that she fell head over heels for beautifully awkward Ronald Weasley. She grew to be a member of the trio's intimate inner circle, and as their friendship grew so did her love for Ronald. But to him, she's just the girl next door. Right? She sighed wistfully from her seat in charms, staring at him and Lavender. Perfect Lavender Brown. Merlin, what a bloody boring name

Small town homecoming queen  
She's the star in this scene  
There's no way to deny she's lovely  
Perfect skin, perfect hair  
Perfumed hearts everywhere 

Ron and Lavender had been together for one year now, and all he could talk about was her perfect skin, perfect hair, and her perfume. It was driving Luna well, loony. She missed Ronald calling her Loony. He had been the only one that hadn't said it to hurt her. He liked her eccentricities. As a friend, he liked her eccentricities. Lavender had become the bane of her usually carefree existence.

Tell myself that inside she's ugly  
Maybe I'm just jealous  
I can't help but hate her  
Secretly I wonder if my boyfriend wants to date her

"Luna are you alright?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I'm just jealous. I used to wonder if Neville wanted her, after he and I broke things off."

"I know love, it's hard wanting someone you think you could never have. I don't think they'll last much longer though."

She is the prom queen I'm in the marching band  
She is a cheerleader I'm sitting in the stands  
She gets the top bunk I'm sleeping on the floor  
She's Miss America and I'm just the girl next door

"Even if he breaks up with her, he'll never want me. I'm just the girl next door. Literally"

"You never know. Sometimes the bookworm gets the hero, so the girl next door can certainly turn out to be a whole lot more." Hermione smiled knowingly, and caught a glance at Harry. They made the most gorgeous couple.

"Maybe I just won't be the girl next door anymore." Luna said, with a glint in her purpley eyes. Hermione creased her eyebrows, concerned for what was formulating in the girl's mind. The moment the bell rang for the end of that Friday's final Charms class, Luna bolted towards the carriages to Hogsmeade.

Senior class president  
She must be heaven sent  
She was never the last one standing  
A backseat debutante

Everything that you want 

Once the carriages pulled into the sleepy town, Luna strode purposefully towards the dress shop. She would change her look, and blow Ronald's socks off at Ginny's party tomorrow. A bell on the door jingled as she walked in. She was astonished by the number of dresses in the small shop. She saw several ones she would actually wear, the lovely green and blue paisley halter for example, but she wasn't going to be silly Loony Lovegood at tomorrow's party, she would be stunning Luna. She spotted a very Lavender-esque dress in the corner. It was purple silk, with a tight bodice and a medium fullness skirt with pale pink tulle. The cut was just revealing enough to be sexy and high fashion, but it was long enough to be tasteful. Luna thanked Merlin for her small frame and the large amount of Galleons her father had sent her last week.

"Excuse me. But do you have that purple and pink dress in a size four?"

"Yes, would you like to purchase it?"

"Yes please." Luna paid for the dress, and left the store in search of the beauty shop Ginny bought all of her makeup and hair products from.

Never too harsh or too demanding  
Maybe I'll admit it  
I'm a little bitter  
Everybody loves her but I just wanna hit her

She entered the shop, only to encounter Ginny.

"Luna? Why are you here?"

"I want to look good for your party tomorrow."

"Is this about my brother?"

"I'll admit it, I'm a little bitter. Everyone loves Lavender and I just wanna hit her. I won't be the girl next door tomorrow Gin. I'll be someone worthy of Ronald."

"Hon, you're perfectly beautiful without all this nonsense. Don't change yourself." But even Ginny could see the determination in Luna's eyes, so she sighed, made her purchases and departed. Luna headed for a counter of straightening potions. She selected the one that said 'For Mildly Wavy Locks'. That in hand, she headed for the makeup. She searched through all the bottles and tubes before settling on a pale pink lip gloss with a hint of sparkle, a bluish lavender eye shadow, a pale shadow gray liner, medium brown mascara, baby pink blush, and ivory foundation. She also bought a bottle of the same perfume Lavender used, instead of her usual patchouli and cherry scent.

She paid for that, and then headed for the shoe store. Picking the perfect pumps took more time than she was expecting, but eventually she found them. They had high enough heels to tighten her calf muscles, but they were low enough to dance in. They were the same pale pink as the crinoline on her dress. After picking up a few more little things, she headed back to the school for a good night's sleep.

She is the prom queen I'm in the marching band  
She is a cheerleader I'm sitting in the stands  
She gets the top bunk I'm sleeping on the floor  
She's Miss America and I'm just the girl next door  
Oh and I'm just the girl next door

She woke up the next morning and immediately headed for the showers. She scrubbed her hair with her strawberry shampoo, shaved her legs, and exfoliated with lemon sugar body wash. When she stepped out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and went to go get her hair up and make up on. She sat at her vanity in a blue kimono and gently poured the scented straightening potion onto her platinum waves. She fingered her hair till every strand was coated, brushed it through, and hit it with a slow drying charm. While it dried she brushed her teeth vigorously, put lotion on every conceivable body part, and laid out her outfit. Once her hair was dry, she rubbed on some of the anti static potion she had bought, and tied it into a braided bun with a pink silk ribbon. She left a piece down in front one side and gently brushed her bangs to the opposite side. She put all her makeup in a line, and picked a sponge and the bottle of foundation. She covered her already perfect skin with it, and then brushed the blush on the apples of her cheeks. She drew on the eyeliner, dusted on the shadow, coated her lashes with the mascara and slicked on the gloss. She plucked a few stray eyebrow hairs. Then she strode across the room and slipped the flirty party dress over her slim hips. She reached her arm behind her to finish pulling the zipper closed. She sat carefully on a chair to slip on the shoes. Almost done, she took out her radish earrings with a sigh. In their place she put a pair of small diamond studs. She clasped a matching pendant around her slim neck, and painted her nails a shimmery pink. She had done her toes the night before. Checking herself over in the mirror, she glanced at the clock. It was time. She left dorms, the common room, and the tower. She arrived moments later at the portkey set up for non-Gryffindors.

I don't know why I'm feeling sorry for myself  
I spend all my time wishing that I was someone else

She was the last to arrive, and before she knew it, they were at the Burrow. She walked towards the tent Ginny had set up in the backyard for tonight's soiree. She saw Ron and immediately walked toward him.

"Hey Ronald! Where's Lavender?"

"We broke up. Well, I broke up with her, and then she said she was bored anyway, so it was fine."

"Oh. Well that's too bad. Would you like to dance?" Luna asked, emboldened by her new look. Ron on the other hand, was puzzled and a bit disturbed.

"Sure, but what's with the get up Loony?"

"I'm not Loony anymore. Just Luna." Ron put his arms around her waist, but was hesitant in doing so. This was not the Luna he knew and well, loved. This was a Lavender clone.

She is the prom queen I'm in the marching band  
She is a cheerleader I'm sitting in the stands  
I get a little bit, she gets a little more  
She's Miss America and... She's Miss America  
I'm just the girl next door...

"What if I miss Loony?"

"I didn't want to be want to be the girl next door anymore. I wanted you, and Lavender is the kind of girl you wanted, so here I am. She's Miss Hogwarts, and I was just the girl next door"

"What if I liked the girl next door?"

"What?" Now it was Luna's turn to be puzzled. She was about to speak up again when Ron started talking.

"I liked, no loved, you for you Luna. Lavender was a distraction, because I thought I was too plain for you. I want Loony back, bare feet, radish earrings, and bloomers included. You were never just the girl next door."

Luna smiled and kicked off the heels, pulled down her hair, shook it, yanked off the necklace, and removed the earrings. She reached for her face and smeared all the makeup off, and wiped her hands on her bare calves.

"I love you Ronald."

"I love you too Loony." And then he kissed her. And for once, everything felt like it could be okay, perfect even. She was the girl next door, and so much more.


End file.
